Exchange City
Comments
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MBJ - give us an update when you can... we'll be thinking of you!
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Vanderlady: I purchased BioOil at Wallgreens for around $10 or $20 (chemo brain) and I hardly have a scar where my TE is. Of course that will all change around 9:30 am!
Thank you everyone for the well wishes! Must go to sleep now!
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Vanderlady: Bio-Oil is a skin care product used to smooth and deminish scars. They advertise here on TV for stretch marks. Several here on BCO have recommended it. I use it daily and found it seemed to help clear up my "Mystery Rash" that kept showing up. Although I haven't investigated all the ingredients (trying to stay away from Parabens!) most of what I recognize are things like Calendula, Lavender, Camomile and Rosemary Oils, Vitamins A & E. I got mine at CVS for around $20/4.2 fl oz. It's expensive but a little goes a long way. There may still be an online coupon for it. Hope that helps!
MBJ: Thinking of you today.
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Thanks everyone for the answers about scar tissue!!
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It's nice to know that Bio Oil does not have parabens. I try hard to avoid those as well -- especially on skin that has been compromised by incisions, radiation, etc.
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Hello all, sorry I've been so MIA, ca razy summer with kid home from college, etc. But fun!
Now back to mammo on the uni original gal and MRI in spring and all that jazz....
So happy to read all are doing well here...Kate, I am so sorry for the headache...I also had a motorcycle accident years ago and have always been prone to headaches on my right side ever since. Massage, stretching, loosening and lessening stress (ho ho ) helped.
BIG NEWS GIRLS: My "Dr. Michaelangelo" PS does nip sparing on large breasted women now!!!! Whooooooooopppp eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Dr. David Passaretti, Aesthetic Surgery, Darien CT. A real, live, miracle worker. If I am a candidate, that is. Hope so!!
It won't be happening til my daughter graduates, unless fate gives me another issue I must address, but since my onc likenend my oopharectomy along with taking arimidex to "killing a fly with a bazooka" I think I'm good
Yippee squishee to all exhange darlings. You will love this, but remember, as kate says, "step away from the mirror"...it does take time for the new gals to settle down.
love to all
annie
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Anniealso-that's great! Routing for you that it all works out, keep us posted.
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moved post- meant to go in Bras 101
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Whitedove-Congrats! Hope your feeling fine. What size did you end up going with? Did you have a NSM?
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Whitedove -- yay and congrats on getting through this next step! I am with sweetie: what size/type of implant did you get and was it NSM?
My PS said no underwires too. She said eventually but not for quite a while. She is super conservative and feels wires pose risk of interfering with sutures under the skin and / or poking through into the implant (where there is no feeling) and compromising the healing. There are other PS's that are 100% the other way -- who REQUIRE underwires. And for equally good reasons. So it's incredibly individual.
Annie --- good to hear from you!!! Glad you are having a fab summer and wahooooooooooo on the NSM artist
I hope he says yes to you!0 -
MBJ, thanks for the warm welcome. If I have the dates correct it looks like your exchange is tomorrow. Best of luck for smooth sailing and awesome results!
Cleo(Linda)
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thanks, all~ meant to post this on the Bras 101 thread - oops.
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I am so far behind!!!! OK, here goes-
MBJ- Hope you are back home now and the boob fairy showed up on time and bestowed great gifts upon you, girl!!!! Hope you're feeling all squishy!!!
NEW ONES- Welcome to all the new posters. This is a great thread. I had my exchange the end of June and just can't get myself to leave these wonderful women!
vanderlady- Thanks for the info on Vitamin E. Very interesting. Also, the Bio-Oil is $20 and they have it at Target as well. I didn't have much luck with my scars with it but it's great for dry skin. Seeing as you live in Florida you probably don't have much of a problem with that!
julesgg- I had that heavy band feeling after exchange, too, but it definitely has gotten better so hang in there. I found it was worse if I tried to go without wearing a bra, though.
whitedove- Cute new dove pic!
anniealso- I just had another member tell me her surgeon is now doing NSM on larger breasted women, too. Hope you are a candidate! And I hope this is becoming a trend so that someday everyone will be given this option. So glad to see you on here, again!
For those asking about scar remedies, whitedove started another thread called "Skin S.O.S.-Scar Remedies. Check it out-
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/756050?page=2#idx_32
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WELCOME NEW SISTERS TO EXCHANGE CITY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have LE. You absolutely CAN get LE from just having a mastectomy. You do not need to have your nodes removed nor radiation. I have now met a few gals right here on BCO that had a mast. only for their treatment, and have the LE as I do. They also have trunkel LE too.. like me. Lilah, I just want to post this so you and and sister looking into LE knows this. YOU MUST get it checked out ladies, if you even THINK you might have LE Left alone... it can get BAD and this alone brings on many issues. IF you think you MIGHT have LE. GET TO YOUR doctor and then referred to a LE therapist. If anyone wants to PM me about LE, I welcome your posts... but be assured, I will send you to ladies on BCO that KNOW what they are speaking about with LE. MUCH MUCH MUCH more educated than I. I am still in the DENIAL stage myself.
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Estepp - So sorry about the LE. That makes me so angry ... they don't tell us how to prevent it if we've 'only' had a MX or 'only' one lymph node removed on each side. It's just wrong. I had one node removed on each side and have swelling in my hands. It's only in my hands. My PS kind of blew me off when I mentioned it to him on Tuesday. I don't see my Breast Surgeon again until Sept 14. I called a therapist in my area but she only will see me if I have a doctor's order. Grrrr ... I can't get one until I see her. The whole thing makes me so angry. I'm left to feel like I'm a hypochondriac and no one will take me seriously. I"m so sorry this has happened to you ... something needs to change. The massage techniques should be shown to us before we leave the hospital. So much of it could be prevented or at least not progressed to later stages if we were shown what to do. Wrong!
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Wow Laura I had no idea that was the case! I thought it was only if you had nodes out that you were prone to getting LE. Thanks for educating me
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Dawn - Call your BS and ask to see her ASAP. I had some tingling and numbness in my arm and they were able to get me in the next day to do an LE test. I didn't have LE but got a script for the PT and the problems were gone after one visit to her.
Did anyone have any shoulder pain after exchange? Should I be worried?
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LE -- don't get me started! My plastic surgeon swore that my LE would not flare up with the LD Flap. I've been told avoid mosquito bites on the left arm because of the disruption, and this huge surgery wouldn't affect it??? Well, of course my arm has been swollen since I woke up in recovery. It's been 3 weeks. Getting better but it's slow.
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Estepp - I also did not know that someone can get LE without having had nodes taken. I thought I was educated about all this. I had my BS give my a script to see am LD therapist and be fitted for a sleeve.I wear the sleeve and gauntlet for lifting, vacuuming and flying as a precautionary measure as I had 1 negative node removed. Anything I know about LE is because of my research. It was not at all mentioned by either of my physicians.
Dawn - I would be camped out at your PS or BS office. This is crap and not something to wait on.
Texas and Lilah - I am sorry you have this issue. It truly is not fair to add insult to injury. Hopefully it is under control.
My heart rate is up just responding to what I've just read here. Bless everyone!
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Estepp: I am always amazed by how little some of these dr's know and how much more informed the women on this board are!
Kate: Boob fairy was generous Allergan High Profile 20-550 on the left and Allergan Midrange 150-392 on the right. Weird, because it looks as if my non MX side is bigger/higher but maybe that is because I don't have a nipple and, of course, I can't really see it yet. Not sure how this is going to balance out. Deborah?
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MBJ-glad to see your doing well and things went well. Sounds like your going to look beautiful! How are you feeling?
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estepp - since I had no idea you could get LE if no nodes were removed I have only been skimming the posts about it. So what are the symptoms? And when should we see a doctor? Good luck to you!!
MBJ - so glad you are home and doing well!!
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Sweetie: I am feeling quite well, considering! A bit tender on the right side and under my left arm where they did some tissue repair/removal. I won't know for another week how it all looks, though. It's great to be home. Yesterday was a really long day. The left MX side feels better now that the TE is out. time will tell if they match or not. He will probably do more fat grafting later, maybe when he does the nipple.
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MBJ-so glad to hear your feeling great. It must be hard to not "look" and see how you look but I think that's good because it will give you time for things to settle and swelling to go down. I asked my Dr. office about fat grafting and I don't they they are doing it yet, but maybe in the near future. I'm not there yet, but it's good to know it's an option if I need it!
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Giselle -- thanks for the sympathy but I don't have LE (maybe you were thinking of Laura (aka Estepp)?
MBJ -- welcome home! Glad you're doing well! It must be anxiety-making not knowing/not looking... hope you get healed up soon and that the unveiling makes you smile
Claire -- I felt instant relief from the constant TE pain when I woke in recovery... but three months post-exchange I do find I have some back pain at times (in the shoulder blade behind the implant side); I notice it more on days when I'm really active and I think it has to do with the range of motion I have on that side (which has never really been 100% restored since my second lumpectomy last year). I'm in the process of looking for a PT to loosen the shoulder up.
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Lilah: I keep peeking inside the bra and I am not so much anxious but excited. Except for there being no nipple, I would say they are a close match. Before going in to surgery I asked my PS if the reason why he didn't use the expandable saline implants was because he was such an amazing surgeon that he was able to match them without having to adjust and he blushed and said that he could get them pretty close--the problem is the odd sizes the silicone comes in. I told him my breasts never matched but as long as I no longer have to stuff one side to make them match, I would be happy. He laughed and said I would no longer have that problem. The lipo area of my tummy is a bit sore today--I had surgery, what I called my reverse tummy tuck (kind of like the step off of the MX breast), several years ago and I think he might have made the transition from my surgery scar to my belly button smoother. Hard to tell, because I am a bit swolen from the lipo but I might be able to finally wear a bikini again! Thank you for all of your support, it really means alot, expecially coming from another uni.
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It all sounds so good MBJ! I am sure you are going to be really pleased when all is said and done
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sweetie: I hope tht you can get the fat grafting, too. I know that I will probably need one or two more times to get it to match my other side. Maybe next time they can take fat from my sides so I can hve a smaller waist!
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MBJ: I haven't posted much as you can see but couldn't hold back and hope I am not intruding on the bond that you have obviously built with these wonderful ladies. The excitment in your "voice" is so just encouraging to me. I am scheduled for exchange on Sep 1 and can hardly wait! I hope you continue to do well and that you heal quickly!
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I had my exchange Monday and my PS mentioned I will need another procedure later (he told my mother that). I'm thinking some fat grafting to fill in a void near my armpit. For those who have had it done... Is the amount they remove significant enough to notice a difference (like you had liposuction)? I have a few areas I wouldn't mind him using. Hope all of you who had exhanges are "yippie squishy" as well.
Karyn
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